Folding furniture



June 16, 1935.. A. G. PARRY FOLDING FURNITURE Filed Oct. 31, 1952 MW am T M W Patented June 1 6, 1936 Y FUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOLDING FURNITURE Amos Granville, N. Y., assignor to Telescope Folding Furniture Company, Incorpolgtted, Granville, N. Y., a corporation of New Application .Qctober 31, 1932, Serial No. 640,403

" ,2 Claims. (01.155-117) 1 This invention relates tov structures such as mediate thereofconstitute the seat of the chair. chairs which have side or rest arms, and espe- A flat spacer 2I is secured to the upper ends of cially to means for maintaining these side or rest bars H} and I5 a slight distance behind the rung arms in spaced relation. i 9 P G "5- Thi SDeQB 2| prevents t e Strip 5 Heretofore in themanufactureof chairs hav- 2,!) from sa gin t o ab h h ha r is 5, ing side or rest arms, it was customary to secure occupied, and also serves to maintain the upper theinner ends of the side arms to the back of the ends of bars I4 and I5 in spaced relation. The chair and the outer ends thereof to the upper ends lower ends of bars I0 and I I or those ends beof upright supports, the lower ends of which were low the pivot pills 8 eO St tute t e from; S 0 in turn secured to the seat of the chair. Such of the chair, and the lower endsof the cross bars 10 meansof supporting the rest arms were unsat- I4 and I5 Or th e e below e pi p s isfactory ho wever,.due to the factthat the up- I8 constitute the rear legs of the chair. right supports were maintained in spaced rela- To permit the angle of repose of the back of tion at only two places throughout their length, the chair to be adjusted, h pper ends of bars 5 namely where they were secured to the outer ends 2, d 2.3 a e pivoted to h Outer Sides of b 5 of the rest arms and where they were secured Ill and II by pivot pins 24 and 25 respectively. to the seat. Under such conditions .when the The lower endof the bars 22 and 23 are held in side arms were subjected to side thrusts, the up- Spaced r n y a rung 0r p r h right supports acted as levers, and the rest arms spacer 26 is adapted and arranged to fit into a tended to rotate about the lowerIupright supports. plu ality of oppositely disposed g oves 27 and 20 An object. of the present invention is .to pro= 28 which are cut in the upper sides of the lower vide means for maintaining the rest arms of a portions of the bars I 4 and I5. To increase the chair in spaced relation when the rest arms are angle of repose of the back the spacer 26 is subjected to side thrusts. placed into an upper set of oppositely disposed In accordance with the present invention, this grooves 21 and 28, and to decrease the angle 25 and other objects are attained by maintaining of repose of the back the spacer '26 is placed the supporting members in spaced relation in at into a lower set of oppositely disposed grooves least three places throughout their length. Un- 21 and 28. der'such conditions when the rest arms are sub- Rest arms 29 and 30 are secured to the back 30 jected to side thrusts the tendency to rotate is of the chair and supported from the seat by sup- 30 counteracted and the arms are maintained in porting members 3| and 32. The inner ends of spaced relation. the rest arms are pivoted to the outer sides of Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a folding chair bars I 0 and I I by pivot pins 33 and 34 respecembodying the features of the present invention; tively. The upper ends of the supporting mem- 35 and hers 3| and 32 are pivoted to the inner sides 35 Fig. 2 is detail view showing the rest arms in of the rest arms 29 and 311 by pivot pins 35 and folded position. 35 respectively. By this arrangement the upper Referring to the drawing: two angularly disends of the supporting members are held in posed bars I I] and I I are held in spaced relation spaced relation and the outer ends of the rest at opposite ends by rungs or spacers I2 and I3. arms are likewise held in spaced relation. The 40 Two cross bars I4 and I5 are likewise held in lower ends of the supporting members 3| and spaced relation at opposite ends by similar rungs 32, that is, the ends which extend downwardly or spacers I6 and H. The bar I5 crosses the bar below the seat of the chair, are held in spaced II and is pivoted to the inner side thereof by a relation by a rung or spacer 31. The supportpivot pin I8. The bar I 4 crosses the bar Ill and ing members 3I and 32 are also held in spaced 45 is likewise pivoted to the inner side thereof by a relation intermediate the tops and bottoms theresimilar pivot pin I8. A strip of woven fabric 20 of by being pivoted to the outer sides of the which is secured to the rung or spacer I2 passes spaced bars I4 and I5. The intermediate secdownwardly intermediate the upper ends of the tions of the supporting members 3I and 32 are bars I0 and II and then outwardly intermediate desirably pivoted to the outer sides of the bars 50 the upper ends of bars I4 and I5. The upper I4 and I5 by L-shaped plates 38 and 39 respecends of bars I0 and I I and the strip of woven tively. The horizontal legs of the L-shaped plates material intermediate thereof constitute the back are secured to the outer surfaces of the spaced portion of the chair and the upper ends of bars bars I 4 and I5 by pivot pins 40 and the Vertical I4 and I5, and the strip of woven material interlegs of the L-shaped plates are secured to the 55 inner faces of the supporting members 3| and 32 by pivot pins 42. While the use of L-shaped plates for securing the supporting members to the bars 14 and I5 is desired, other arrangements may be used. For example, the supporting members may be pivoted directly to the bars by pivot pins.

When in use the chair is in the position shown. To fold the chair the spacer 21 is removed from the grooves 28 and 29 and the bars 22 and 23 are swung upwardly about pivot pins 24 and 25 until the bars 22 and 23 are in alignment with the inner sides of the upper ends of bars l0, and H. The lower ends of bars l4 and [5 are then'swung upwardly about pivot pins I8 until the bars I4 and h l5 are in alignment with the inner sides of bars l0 and H. As the lower ends of bars M and [5 swing upwardly about pivot pins Hi the upper ends thereof swing downwardly. As the upper ends of bars 14 and I5 swing downwardly the rest arms 29 and 30 also swing downwardly about pivot pins 33 and 34, and the supporting members 3! and 32 pivot at their upper ends about pins 35 and 36 and at their intermediate portions about the L-shaped pivots 38 and. 39 until they abut the legs Ill and II.

The feature of extending the supporting members 3| and 32 downwardly beyond the seat and holding the lower ends thereof in fixed spaced relation prevents the rest arms 29 and 30 from moving sideways when subjected to side thrusts. For example if side thrusts are exerted which tends to move the rest arms outwardly the strains thus produced are transmitted through the supporting members to the spacer thereby subjecting the spacer to compression and as a result the supporting members and associated rest arms do not rotate about where the supporting members are secured to bars l4 and I5. In like manner when the rest arms are subjected to side thrusts which have a tendency to move the side arms inwardly the spacer is subjected to tension and as a result the side arms are maintained in spaced relation.

While the use ofa spacer intermediate the lower ends of the supporting members is preferable it .is to be understood that other arrangements may be employed, the essential feature in all cases being that the supporting members are maintained in spaced relation in at least three places throughout their length.

I claim:

1. In a folding chair two angularly positioned bars disposed opposite one another in spaced relation, spacers positioned between said bars, two angularly positioned cross bars disposed opposite one another in spaced relation and pivotally connected between their ends to said bars, spacers .positioned between said cross bars, two oppositely disposed supporting bars pivotally connected at their upper ends to the upper portions of said bars, a spacervmember positioned between the lower ends of said supporting bars, a plurality of oppositely disposed grooves in the lower ends of said cross bars adapted to receive said spacer member, rest arms pivotally connected at their inner ends to said bars, supporting members for said rest arms, said supporting members being pivotally connected at their upper ends to the outer ends of said. rest arms andmaintain'ed in spaced relation at their lower ends by a spacer and connecting members pivotally connected to said supporting members between the ends thereof and to the upper ends of said cross bars.

2. In a folding chair. two angularly'positioned bars disposed opposite one another in spaced relation spacers positioned between said bars, two angularly positioned cross bars disposed opposite one another in spaced relation and pivotallyconnected between their ends to said bars, spacers positioned between said cross bars, two oppositely disposed supporting bars pivotally connected at their upper ends to the upper portions of said bars, a spacer member positioned between the lower ends of said supporting bars, a plurality of oppositely disposed grooves in the lower ends of said cross bars adapted to receive said spacer member, rest arms pivotally connected at their inner ends to said bars, supporting members for said rest arms, said supporting members being pivotally connected at their upper ends to the outer ends of said rest arms and maintained in spaced relation at their lower ends by a spacer and L-shaped connecting members pivotally connected to said supporting members between the ends thereof and to the upper ends of said cross bars.

- AMOS G. PARRY. 

